San Francisco, Jul 14: Finally, the count down begins for Windows XP. The Software Giant Microsoft said that it will stop support for Windows XP, the world's most popular operating system, after three years.

Microsoft began countdown to the end for Windows X on Monday, Jul 11 and will be end on 1000th day. The company also said that it will not any kind of support to the old operating system. Microsoft is aiming to boost the sale of Windows 7, the latest version.

"Windows XP had an amazing run and millions of PC users are grateful for it. But it’s time to move on," said Stephen Rose, Microsoft’s senior community manager. "Two reasons: 1- Extended support for Windows XP is running out in less than 1,000 days, and 2- there’s an OS out there that’s much better than Windows XP."

The countdown will end on 2014 and there after Windows XP users will nt get any kind of support or patches from Microsoft. If these users want any support, they would have to upgrade to Windows 7.

On April 8, 2014, security patches and hotfixes for all versions of WindowsXP will no longer be available. So bottom line, PC’s running Windows XP will be vulnerable to security threats.

"Many third party software providers are not planning to extend support for their applications running on Windows XP, which translates to even more complexity, security risks, and ultimately, added management costs for your IT department if you’re still managing Windows XP environments," Stephen Rose added.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is planning to launch the next generation operating system, Windows 8, in 2012. The company recently demoed the Windows 8 prototype on a tablet computer and a laptop at the D9 Conference. The exciting feature on Windows 8 is its 'touch interface' that features tile-based Start screen.